by Codi Gary
He’d left Blue Creek, searching for the rest of the killers. There was no thinking of his family without the wrenching pain that followed, so he buried those memories. All that kept him going was the knowledge that he was going to annihilate the animals that tore his family apart.
Then his truck had flipped outside of Denver. He’d been pinned in, unable to shift, and hurt bad. Another vehicle had come around the bend and when the driver stopped and climbed out, Xander had smelled wolf.
Clyde Larsen was able to wrench him loose, and once he’d shifted and healed, Clyde had brought him back to his home and family. Watching the large group of loved one’s joke and mess around with each other had been his undoing.
It was Clyde and his pack who had saved Xander’s humanity.
It was actually Clyde’s brother who owned the house Xander was renting, and while his adoptive family had been good to him, he could never forget his strong father, warm, caring mother, or his brothers.
They needed him and nothing was going to stop him from finishing what he started.
Chapter Four
Greer sat in the hospital bed, wearing one of those awkward backless gowns with a warm blanket pulled up to her waist. She’d made Xander leave the room while she changed, and was actually surprised he’d stayed so long. They were just waiting on the doctor to come back in with her scan results, and she’d told him he could go. She’d called Sam from the hospital landline and left messages for him on his cell and at work. She hadn’t heard back yet, but she was sure he would be there soon.
“You don’t have to stay with me,” she told Xander for the fifteenth time.
He looked up from the magazine in his hands, an older issue of Cosmo that he’d grabbed from a rack on the wall.
“And I told you, I’m good. I’m learning all about what kind of skin I have and the proper cleaning regiment I should be implementing. I can’t believe I’ve been using a bar of soap all these years.”
She laughed, she couldn’t help it. The guy was funny. Charming. Add that to the rest of his pretty packaging and he seemed just about perfect.
Someone knocked on the door and Dr. Peterson stepped in. She was older, maybe mid-fifties, with gray laced brown hair and blue eyes. She sat down on the stool in front of the computer against the wall, facing Greer with a smile.
“I have good news.”
“That’s a relief,” Greer said.
“It is considering the fall you took. You’ve definitely got a concussion, and some bumps and bruises, but nothing that won’t heal. There were no subdermal hematomas on your scans. I just want you to rest and take it easy for the next few days. The nurse will come in with your prescription in a few minutes. Do you have someone who could stay with you?”
The doctor’s glance cut to Xander, a small smile on her lips that made Greer’s face warm.
“Yeah, I’ll call my friend, Jill,” Greer said. Since her boyfriend seemed to be MIA.
Dr. Peterson slapped her hands down on her knees. “Excellent. Your primary care physician’s nurse will be contacting you in a few days for a follow up. It was nice to meet you both and be careful next time you go jogging. You should take a friend with you.”
“I will. Thank you.”
The doctor disappeared out the door, and Greer got up from the bed, careful to keep her front to him. “I guess I better call Jill to come get me.”
“I’ll drop you at home and she can meet you there,” Xander said.
“Are you sure? Because I know this is really weird and you are being so chivalrous—
Suddenly, Xander was right in front of her. She hadn’t even seen him move, he was so fast, and he tapped her mouth with the tip of his finger. “I want to make sure you get home safe, Greer. If I didn’t want to be here, I’d have left already. Stop worrying.”
Greer stared up at him while his finger trailed slowly down her lips to her chin. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her…
But he stepped back, dropping his hand to his side.
“I’ll duck out so you can dress.”
The minute the door closed behind him she could breathe again. What was it about him that made her so loopy?
It had to be the eyes. Or his smile?
She was a hussy, that was all there was to it.
Plus, she was a little irritated with Sam. She’d left several voice mails and called the bank where he worked, hoping one of the tellers could grab him. Only both times, he’d been in a meeting and had told them to tell her he’d call her back. She knew that it was his job, but her calling multiple times should have tipped him off that it was an emergency.
Greer dressed quickly, wanting to get the heck out of there and back home where food and her comfortable couch waited. She’d had a protein bar before her run several hours ago, and her stomach was protesting the lack of sustenance. She caught her reflection in the door glass and winced.
Xander had been kind to call her gorgeous when she looked like a train wreck. Wild, messy hair and dirt streaks across her forehead and cheeks. Why hadn’t one of the nurses said something to her?
She washed her face in the sink and ran a paper towel over it. Feeling less grimy, she smiled when the nurse came in and handed her the paper with her pain medication prescription.
“I hope you feel better,” the cheerful red head in purple scrubs said.
“Thanks.” When she was gone, Greer dialed out for Jill on the hospital phone and left her a voicemail to meet her at her place when she could. She stepped out into the hallway and found Xander leaning against the wall waiting for her. She saw several women in scrubs watching him from a doorway, their gazes traveling over his body. She couldn’t blame them. His jacket was tossed over one tan arm, his navy t-shirt making his eyes seem richer and the jeans he was wearing emphasized his long legs. The guy was tall, well-built, and any girl’s wet dream.
Even mine.
She needed to get a grip on herself and stop being a lust puppy. She could drool over Chris Pine. He was famous, sexy and completely unattainable.
Xander was within arm’s length and had already admitted to flirting with her. That made the entire situation they were in less innocent and she was already feeling guilty about her freak out over Sam’s proposal.
She needed to be friendly but professional. And stop melting every time Xander smiled at her.
“Hey, I’m ready.” Her voice came out squeakier than usual.
Xander stood up straight and shrugged into his jacket. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved actually, but I will just make something at home.”
“We can grab something,” he said.
“It’s okay. I have a prescription to pick up that won’t be ready for a while, so I have to come back to town anyway.”
He frowned at her, his expression stern. “The doctor said for you to take it easy, remember? Why don’t I take you to lunch and we’ll pick up the prescription on the way back to your place?”
Sitting down with Xander for lunch, staring at him across a table with food? Bad idea. “No, that’s okay, really.”
“I insist. Unless you don’t want to be seen with me?”
His teasing had the desired effect and she caved. “You are really being too nice to me. It wouldn’t take very long to go home and get my purse. I should be feeding you after everything you’ve done.”
“You can get lunch next time.”
“You think there’s going to be a next time?” she asked.
He leveled her with those sparkling blue eyes and she forgot to breathe.
“I hope so.”
Chapter Five
Greer climbed out of Xander’s Bronco when he parked. She’d suggested Moonlight Bay Restaurant and Bakery because after the day she’d had, she really wanted pie. Pie was her weakness. She couldn’t make it, but damn, she could win any pie eating contest in the county.
They walked through the door and one of the waitresses smiled as she rushed by. “Hey, Greer. Be right bac
k.”
Xander quirked a brow at her and she shrugged. “That’s Kelsey. We went to high school together. Plus, I come here a lot. They have really good pie. The chocolate is to die for.”
He chuckled. “I’m sold.”
The décor of the restaurant was very nineteen fifties, down to the framed Doris Day movie posters. The one for the restaurant’s namesake was front and center on the wall behind the cash register, featuring a young Gordan MacRae and Doris Day smiling while they sang.
On Moonlight Bay was one of her favorites, because it had been her mom’s too. They’d watch it all the time when she was growing up.
Her mom had also been obsessed with pie, although she could actually bake one.
Her heart squeezed. Even though this place often brought up memories of her parents, she couldn’t stop coming here. She wanted those memories alive, no matter how painful they might be.
When the waitress, Kelsey Mackintosh, came back, and Greer accepted her hug with affection. Kelsey was a sweet woman with dark hair threaded with teal and magenta streaks, and bright green eyes. They had gone to movies and dinner sporadically, but they didn’t hang out a lot. Kelsey worked two jobs and was finishing up her degree online. Greer assumed that didn’t leave a lot of time for socializing.
“Let’s get you a table. Is this your new guy?” Kelsey asked.
Greer blushed. “No, this is my friend, Xander Thorson. I had a bit of an accident this morning and he was there to help.”
Kelsey smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I just figured since you and Sam weren’t together, you’d moved up.”
Greer blinked at her, completely floored. “Huh? Sam and I didn’t break up.”
Kelsey looked as though she was about to fall over with shock. “You…you didn’t?”
“No, what gave you that idea?”
Greer was very much aware of Xander at her back, but her heart was racing too fast, her palms sweating buckets. She had a feeling that Kelsey was about to drop a huge bomb on her and she almost wished she could take back the question.
“He…he’s here with Patty Simcox.”
Greer almost burst out laughing with relief. “So? They work together. It makes sense they would have lunch together.”
“Greer, they’re having more than lunch. They’re making out in the back booth.”
Her stomach dropped out, and humiliation boiled through her bloodstream, burning her skin. Her emotions warred within her; confusion, anger, and surprisingly…acceptance? She was embarrassed that he’d made a fool of her, but the one good thing about this whole scenario was that after she confronted him, she would be free.
“Right or the left?” she asked.
“They’re on the right-hand side. Just don’t break anything.”
Greer appreciated Kelsey’s attempt to lighten the mood. If Greer had been any other woman, she might have just walked away and handled this quietly, but she deserved respect. Sam sneaking around on her, coming into her favorite restaurant and making an idiot out of her would not stand.
Greer turned to Xander with a tight smile, taking in his somber expression. “Do you mind if we take our meal to go?”
“No.”
“Good. I’ll be right back.”
Greer marched through the restaurant to the last booth on the right. She stopped at the edge of the table, waiting for Sam and Patty come up for air and notice her. His back was to her, but Patty’s blue eyes popped open wide as she jerked away from Sam.
“What’s the matter, baby?” he asked, before he turned around. The minute his gaze met Greer’s, all the color drained from his face. She’d always thought Sam was handsome, but now, all she saw was a black-haired worm in a nice suit.
“I guess you didn’t get my messages?” Greer said pleasantly.
“Greer, I—
She held up her hand to cut him off. “No need to explain. I mean, while I was getting checked out in the hospital for a possible brain bleed, my boyfriend was getting it on with his coworker. Nice to see you, Patty. Is that a new shade of lipstick? If it’s one of those long-lasting ones, I’d get my money back because it is all over Sam’s lips.”
Sam wiped at his mouth, but she’d just been messing with him. The only thing on his face was a dumbass expression.
“It’s not what you think,” he said.
“Oh, please, enlighten me, as to what kind of work emergency requires the two of you to swap spit?”
“There’s no need to be vulgar,” he said.
“Vulgar? Vulgar? I catch you cheating on me in my favorite restaurant, and I’m uncouth? No. You are a dirt bag, and I am out of here.” She was just about to turn and leave but paused to knock his glass over, satisfied when he jumped with a curse as ice landed in his lap.
“I hope you two are very happy together.”
She walked back down the aisle of tables and booths, ignoring the shocked and curious gazes following her. So, she might have gone too far making a scene but his betrayal had stung, especially because she’d been freaking out about hurting Sam. Only it turned out, Sam would have been just fine if she’d been honest with him about finding the ring and how she really felt about him. Maybe the ring had been for Patty all along.
Part of her wanted to turn around and ask who the ring had been for, but she didn’t care enough to find out. Whether it was for her while he was fooling around with Patty or Patty while he was still with Greer, all either answer would prove was that he was a dog, and she deserved better.
Maybe Patty did too, but she wasn’t feeling too charitable at the moment. She’d been into the bank just last week, and Patty had known he was taken.
The only good thing that had come out of her and Sam was meeting Xander, a virtual stranger.
Who happened to be holding a white pie box in his hand.
“Kelsey is getting our food. She told me she knew what you usually ordered, so I hope that’s fine.”
“It’s perfect, what’s in the box?”
“A Chocolate Death pie.”
Just what she needed. “That is perfect.”
“Don’t look now, but I think your ex just stood up and is looking our way.”
“Eff him with a pinecone,” she said.
Xander let loose with one of those great laughs she’d come to love in the few hours they spent together.
“He’s headed toward us.”
Kelsey came out from the pickup window and handed them their bag of food. Then she made a shooing motion. “Run. I’ll hold him off.”
Chapter Six
Xander thought that Greer was handling her break up rather well considering how fast everything had come about. They had just reached his Bronco when the little weasel, Sam caught up to them, his date running rather unsteadily behind him, probably due to the absurd sky scraper heels she had on.
Apparently, Kelsey hadn’t been very successful with holding him off. Xander saw the front of his light gray suit had a big wet spot right over his crotch, making it look as though he’d pissed himself.
“Greer!” Sam shouted. “You come at me and make a scene when you’re out with some other guy? You’re a fucking hypocrite.”
Xander’s skin prickled at his tone and he took a step closer to Greer.
When Greer put a hand on Xander’s shoulder, the heat of her palm burned through his shirt, and electricity sparked across his body.
“This is the man who found me lying unconscious after I hit my head and took me to the hospital. We stopped for food because…wait, I don’t need to explain myself to you. You cheated. I didn’t. We’re done.”
Xander was disappointed when she stopped touching him, and went for the car door before he could get it.
But Sam lurched forward, gripping her arm viciously.
“You humiliated me!” he snarled.
Greer tried to shake him off, but Xander could see his hold tighten. An unexpected growl escaped him, and his wolf rustled just below his skin. The anger and resentment radiating off the other man
was agitating his beast and he wanted Sam gone.
“Take your hand off her,” Xander said softly.
Sam, oblivious to the danger he was in, snapped, “You aren’t even a part of this so shut the fuck up.”
With lightning speed, Xander wrenched Sam’s hand from Greer’s arm and tilted his fingers back until he was whimpering.
“I’m going to let you go and you’re going to walk away. After that, you’re to stay away from Greer. Understood?”
When Sam opened his mouth, Xander could tell he was going to protest and he increased the pressure. Sam finally yelled, “Fine, shit, let me go!”
Xander released him abruptly and stepped back. He caught the horrified expression on Greer’s face and he cursed himself. He’d let his emotions get the best of him, which only proved how dangerous she was to him. Only hours after meeting her, he was ready to throttle any man who hurt her.
This was definitely not good.
Sam cradled his injured hand to his chest, wrenching away from Patty when she tried to touch him. “I’ll sue your ass!”
“You can try, but I’ve got nothing you’d want.”
“Come on, Sammy, let’s go,” Patty said.
Xander couldn’t believe the man let her call him Sammy as though he were a child. And what’s more, he couldn’t imagine what Greer had seen in the douche.
Once they had walked away, Xander opened his passenger door for her.
“What was that?” she asked quietly.
Xander had sensed by her reaction that she was upset with him, but there was no way he could have stood by and let that piece of shit manhandle her.
“I was protecting your honor?” His attempt at a joke fell flat and he sighed, “I’m sorry. I know I don’t know you well, and that I should have just let you handle your own business, but he had no right to touch you like that.”
